99 Red Balloons
by sevenohfive
Summary: Miley, Nick, David, Selena, Joe, Demi, Kevin, Danielle and Taylor have quite the summer adventure, finding out who they really are and who they are really meant to be with.
1. Chapter 1

**99 Red Balloons**

**Chapter 1**

_99 dreams I have had, in every one a red balloon  
It's all over and I'm standin' pretty, in the dust that was a city  
If I could find a souvenir, just to prove the world was here...  
And here it is, a red balloon_

_I think of you and let it go..._

-*-*-*-*-

Nick ran down the stairs quickly, his worn down converse clapping loudly against each step. The books in his hands were nearly dropped when he skillfully avoided colliding head-on with a student going up the stairs. Luckily, the dark haired boy moved out of the way just in time, but when he realized who was rushing in the opposite direction, he grasped their arm and pulled them back. He gave him a concerned but amused look and the rushing boy sighed impatiently.

"What is it, Joe?" He asked, irritated and looking around frantically for the one girl on his mind.

"Hey, I'm not the one running down the stairs without a 'Warning: I run without paying attention.' sign stapled to my shirt."

"Ha-ha, very funny, but I'm in a hurry. I gotta find Demi and tell her that Mom and Dad gave the 'okay'." He told Joe and once again looked around the empty hallway quickly, scanning for his girl's dark brunette, wavy locks.

"Whoa, they're letting her stay with us over the summer?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. It will be fun, though. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she finds out. I mean, I know she'd give anything to not have to spend the summer with her grandparents in Wadsworth. They never even remember they are her guardians, they forget she's around. I feel awful about that, and you know as much as I do that she'll be welcome at our house." He explained, actually taking a break from his frantic search.

"Well obviously, Nick. Mom and Dad loved her ever since she visited us over Christmas break." Joe said and smiled at his brother. He smiled back and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. So like I said, it should be a fun summer."

"Yeah, I hope so." Joe said and looked down in deep thought. He took a deep breath and after a moment realized he was still standing there. He looked up and saw Nick had disappeared, probably gone to find Demi. _Why doesn't he just check her dorm room?_ Joe thought and chuckled at his brother.

-*-*-*-*-

Taylor let her head fall as she heard the conversation between the two girls in front of her. She knew who they were talking about.

"I heard he's breaking up with her." One of them spoke, unaware of her presence walking behind them.

"Of course he is. She's a slut. She hooked up with David at the 'End of the School Year Party', completely cheating on Joe." The other said and it took everything in Taylor to not whack the brunette with her purse, causing her to fall forward, flat on her face. Even though everyone in the school knew that David skipped that party to go to a friend in mourning, as she needed him.

"I heard that she hooked up with David and his roommate..at the same time." A dark red-head spoke and her friend, Selena, laughed.

"Slut."

The gossiping girls faded into a different hallway as Taylor stood there, her head hanging low, and a silent tear rolling down her porcelain cheek. The lies that slid across their tongues, seeping into others' ears were like venom. And they were all about her.

-*-*-*-*-

Demi sighed as she looked out her window. The end of the school year had arrived and she would be on her way back to Oklahoma to live with her grandparents. It was planned for her to stay at her boyfriend's house all summer, but he hadn't gotten back to her with news from his parents yet, so she knew she was heading back to her cruddy hometown.

She turned back to her computer screen and hesitated on clicking the submit button to buy the one way ticket to hell. Maybe, just maybe, Nick would suddenly pop in the room with the good news of her staying with him.

She sat for two more minutes, just looking at her door, waiting for him to knock. Her bags were all packed and the only thing she had out of it were clothes for tomorrow, as she was already in her pajamas, sweats and a concert tee. She had a single sheet and comforter on her bed with a pillow, all the rest was stuffed into a suit case.

The door opened and Demi's eyes lit up, her head snapping left to see who was entering. _Aw crap._ She thought as she saw her best friend, also her roommate, walk in.

She turned away disappointed and looked at the submit button once again.

"Wow, didn't know I brought you down so much, Demi." Selena joked and Demi turned back around to face her. She smiled softly, "You don't, Sel. Nick does."

"Aw, you don't mean that."

"You're right. I mean, it's not his fault if his parents said no. But he could at least tell me."

"Demi, you know I'd let you come home with me if I could, but my parents won't budge."

"I know, and I love you for that. You're my best friend, I'm gonna miss you over the summer."

"I'm gonna miss you too." Selena sighed and Demi got up from her bed and hugged her. After a moment they let go and Demi looked back at her laptop.

She sighed. "I guess I gotta get my plane ticket. It's past dorm curfew, I don't think Nick will be stopping by anytime soon."

She sat back down and Selena gave her a sympathetic smile as she clicked the orange submit button. There. All done. She was going back to her cruddy life, where she was invisible.

"Looks like I'm heading back to Wadsworth..."

"Ugh. I wish Nick came through that door a long time ago saying-"

"Dem! You're coming to New Jersey!" The sound of Nick's voice flooded through out the room and Demi jumped off the bed excitedly.

"No way! Ahhhh!" She squealed and jumped into Nick's arms. Selena smiled at them as they hugged. Demi immediately pulled away a frown taking over her smile.

"What...what's wrong?" Nick asked, worried and Demi shook her head.

"I already bought my plane ticket to my grandparents' house."

"Well unbuy it, 'cause you're coming with Joe and I."

Demi laughed. "I can't just 'unbuy' a ticket. That's not even a word. Well, I guess I can call the airport and cancel the ticket order."

"Great." Nick said and kissed her.

"Oh please. Get a room." Selena joked and made a gagging noise.

Demi pulled back and smiled, hugging him one last time.

"Okay, I gotta run but we'll meet up tomorrow around 9 AM. Our plane leaves at noon." Nick told Demi and she nodded.

"I'm so happy for you!" Selena exclaimed and hugged her best friend.

"I know, I'm stoked. This is gonna be the best summer of all time." Demi said and smiled at the thought of a drama free summer with her boyfriend and his family.

-*-*-*-*-

Miley smiled sympathetically at her best friend as he stepped out of the taxi. She ran out of her front door and into his arms. "I'm so glad you came" She whispered and hugged him tightly.

"Anything for my best friend."

"Thanks for flying down to New Jersey. I mean, missing the 'End of the Year Party' and stuff. It was a really nice thing to do."

"Like I said, anything for my best friend." David said and smiled at her as they pulled apart. She grabbed one of his suit cases and he grabbed the other two, kicking the taxi door shut. They walked into her house and plopped the suit cases down.

"I don't think you know how much it means to me that you would spend the summer here."

"Miles, you know I don't mind. It beats going home for the summer. My parents are the whole reason I started going to Shane M.J. Academy Boarding School. I can't stand them." He said and shook his head at the thought of having to spend the summer with his older brother and drunk parents.

"At least you have two of them..." Miley said softly, a weird smile spread across her face. Instantly, David regretted his choice of words.

"Miles..." He started, "you know I didn't mean it like th-"

"I know." She interrupted him, shrugging with a tight lipped smile pulled together, "You would never...mean it like that."

David nodded and looked down, slightly ashamed of how he talked about his parents around Miley. Although she knew how they treated him and what he went through in that house, her experience taught him a valuable lesson and sometimes he had to bite his tongue.

"Promise me something?" She said randomly and looked up him in the eye.

"Anything."

"Promise me you won't take _anyone_ or _anything_ for granted. _Ever_."

"I promise."

Miley nodded and took in a deep breath and smiled. "Well, my dad spent a long time cleaning up that guest room for you and making it nice and made up. Haha. I'll help you unpack and get settled in."

"Great." David replied and they made their way upstairs, both very thankful to have a best friend there for them.

-*-*-*-*-

Kevin took a deep breath and felt for the velvet box in his pocket, checking that it was still there, it was. He saw her approach the elevator and quickly rushed to her side. A cool breeze from outside blew in the doors, making her hair blow into his direction, causing him to get a whiff of her strawberry scented shampoo. She rushed to the elevator as soon as she saw him approach her.

"Kevin, go away." She said, annoyed, and pressed the elevator button obnoxiously.

"Just hear me out!" He begged and touched her shoulder gently. She shrugged his hand off of her and shook her head, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Don't make me get down on my knees and beg. Please. Give me a minute, two minutes tops?" He challenged and she bit her bottom lip.

"I thought I told you that I didn't wanna see you ever again?"

"I don't care. When you love someone, you chase after them." She looked at him, as he had taken both of her hands into his very own.

"You have one minute." She answered stubbornly, yanking her hands out of his grasp. By now a scene had already been formed. As much as they wanted to deny it, people were watching.

"I was stupid, no beyond that. And I was wrong. But I just wanted to ask you something."

"30 seconds."

"Marry me, Danielle?" The three words dripped from his bottom lip and onto the diamond ring in his hands.

-*-*-*-*-

Joe cringed at the rumors ringing through his ears. The gazes burn wholes through his skin as he walks by and the curious students stop talking and stare. Now Joe isn't an idiot. He knew when he was being talked about and he always knew what it was about. Usually the the guy's lounge is never a gossiping place, but everyone has been talking about this.

"Hey Joe, you still with that chick?" He heard someone from his biology class ask him and he looked up from his cell phone.

"Uh, you mean Taylor? Yeah...why wouldn't I be?" He played dumb, but nobody fell for it. You would have to be blind and deaf to not know this end of the year drama.

"You got some competition. David and Chad have her under their grasp." One guy said and pounded fists with another, laughing at the inappropriate pun. Any other day, Joe would have ignored the comment and kept on walking, but today, he was fed up. It was the last full day of school and there were just a couple hundred students left at the school, all leaving tomorrow. Those couple hundred fed him rumors day and night for the past three days.

He stopped in his tracks and swallowed the knot in his throat, biting his tongue as his jaw locked. Slowly turning around to face the three boys he clenched his fists. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He spat out. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Right. We aren't the ones being played."

"I'm not being played, man. She didn't do anything with David and Chad. Besides, David wasn't even at the party. He left a few days ago to visit Miley." Joe argued, knowing he was exactly right.

The boys just smirked and walked away. Joe sighed and looked down at his cell phone. He had began a text message but never sent it and he wondered if it was the right thing to do. He pondered about it once more before deleting the three most adored words and typing in the four most dreaded ones. With that, he pressed the green send button.

_We need to talk._

_-Joe_

* * *

A/N: Okay this is my newest piece of work. I'm proud of it so far. I really think this will go somewhere. Mainly because it's not about just one couple or one person but about basically companionship all together. I hope you guys saw the obvious relationships set out so far. Some will grow and some will be demolished. I can't wait until you guys can read more. Also check out the trailer for this story at my YouTube. My account name is xStruckxByxLovex and the video is called 99 Red Balloons Fanfic Trailer. So check that out, it will help you visualize some things and it helps you get an idea of the story.

10 + reviews for chapter two.


	2. Chapter 2

**99 Red Balloons**

**Chapter 2**

_You and I in a little toy shop  
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got  
Set them free at the break of dawn  
'Til one by one they were gone_

-*-*-*-*-

Taylor sighed and shook her head as she read the text message glowing on her phone. She knew what was coming next, heck, everyone in the school knew what was coming next. Ever since Miley left people have been dropping names on her. _Slut. Skank. Whore. Home-wrecker._ She wasn't any of those. She never even did anything wrong. People only think she did because they hear what they want to hear and how they want to hear it. They don't hear the truth behind the lies, though it's there. _Taylor is a slut because she back stabbed her best friend and cheated on Joe._

That's what you hear in the hallways of Shane M.J. Academy Boarding School. You'd think someone besides her boyfriend would defend her, but everyone can see he's trying to tell himself more than anyone else. The only other person that would defend her left school 3 months early partly because of the rumors...well at least that's what people _heard._

_Lies._

She sat on her bed and looked at her phone once again.

_We need to talk._

_-Joe_

What do you say to that? "_Okay, meet me in five for my big dumping. I'll be sure to bring some glue __and tape for my broken heart._"

Taylor lightly smiled at the thought of sending that. Maybe it would show him what a mistake he was making by breaking up with her just because of some rumors. But reality hit her and she knew that the second he said they were done, they were done. Joe didn't mess around about this stuff. Sure, he was goofy and what not, but he did have a serious side and that serious side was no joke.

_K. Where do u wanna meet?_

_-Taylor_

She replied to him, knowing that if he sent that text to her now, that he couldn't wait until tomorrow because that's when he was leaving , there would be no time.

His reply came quickly, once her phone buzzed she knew that he must have been watching his phone for her reply out of anxiousness, he never answered so quickly.

_Its after curfew so meet me in the roof stairway in 5._

_-Joe_

Taylor took a deep breath and nodded. "Why'd you have to go home early, Miley... I could really use a friend right now." She said to herself, looking at the empty side of the room, where Miley's belongings were just 3 months ago, before Taylor needed her. 3 months ago Taylor needed nobody but her boyfriend because she was happy. But 3 months ago she was neglecting everyone else but her boyfriend, acting like nobody but him mattered. Now nothing matters because tomorrow she would be heading home and never have to talk to these people again. She would not be enrolling in Shane M.J. Academy Boarding School next year.

-*-*-*-*-

He made his way through the empty hallway, attempting to be as quiet as possible. Not that it mattered because being caught after curfew on the last night of the school year had no effect on you. The real reason why he was being quiet? People see him go into the sky roof stairway and they talk. People see Taylor go into the sky roof stairway after him and they talk. They see Taylor go in first and Joe follow, and they talk. They talk about what happened in that stairway, though none of them will ever really know. They will make up lies that they hooked up. _Joe scores again and Taylor is just as slutty as she was before.. _

Joe shook his head at the thought of the rumors to be spread and continued to his destination. He heard a door click open and froze, turning his head slightly, watching a girl in skimpy clothes walk out of a room in the corner of his eye. He looked straight ahead and waited as the footsteps faded into a different hallway. He knew exactly who the girl was and whose room she was leaving. Jillian from his Spanish class, leaving the swim team's captain's room. And people call his girlfriend a slut, saying he's getting played... Jillian's had 6 boyfriends in the last 3 months, and was rumored to hook up with 3 other guys. Though, you can't always believe the rumors... _right_?

He continued to walk and made his way to the end of the hallway where the door to the stairway was. Joe hoped to God that Taylor wasn't already there. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say. He needed at least another 2 minutes. Joe placed his hand on the door knob, it was cold and gave him the chills. He turned it and opened the door slowly, swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat.

He gave a sympathetic expression to the girl leaning against the wall, her arms crossed, a worried look playing across her face.

Taylor looked up at Joe as he turned to close the door, his back to her. He shut it softly and turned to face her. There was an awkward silence, because he knew that she knew why he had wanted to talk to her. But where did he begin?

"Hi." Joe said quietly and looked down.

"Hi." She replied, taking a step closer to him.

"We need to talk." He mimicked his own text and mentally slapped himself. _Of course we need to talk. That's why we're here._ He thought.

"I know." Taylor said and paused. After a minute of silence she spoke again. "I know you wanted to talk, but you're not doing much of it right now... so hear me out first." She started, he was silent for a moment as she waited for him to object, but nothing. He continued to stare at his shoes, as if they were in some way amusing.

"You need to know that the rum-"

"Taylor." Joe cut her off, looking into her eyes for the first time in those eight minutes of being in the stairway.

She stopped talking, biting her lip. "Yeah?" She asked, barely audible.

"There's no need for an explanation. I know. I know the rumors. I know they aren't true. I know it all. But..."

"What?"

"I can't... do this... anymore." A pained expression formed on his face as his voice cracked somewhere in those five, wretched words.

"Do what?" She stared at him, fear dripping from within her soul.

He read all of her emotions as if she was an open book and right now, he wanted to stop reading. He frowned and almost looked away, but held his gaze on her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and he meant it. Most guys don't mean it when they apologize, but he did. Taylor knew he did too. She knew it because he wasn't even the one who should be sorry. She should, but he apologized anyway.

Taylor didn't need anymore of an explanation. She slightly nodded as tears brimmed her eyes. Joe saw the tears come close to falling and looked down, ashamed of himself for doing that to her.

"Please, please... don't cry." Agony slid off of his tongue and dripped down with the words. He hated seeing her upset and knowing that he was the reason why, killed him inside.

"I'm not crying." She spoke softly and blinked back the tears. Joe took a few steps close to her and wrapped his arms around her fragile body. This caught her by surprise, but she didn't object. She lifted her arms and locked them around his neck.

There was another moment of silence as they were wrapped in each others arms, but it wasn't an uneasy silence. It was comfortable. The only thing you could hear was the heavy rain pattering on the roof.

Joe pulled away and looked at her with glazed eyes. "You okay?" He asked softly, wiping the tear sliding down her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Taylor nodded and took a deep breath. Joe nodded his head in reassurance. He turned around and opened the door, before walking out, he turned back to face Taylor. He gave one last look at the first girl he ever loved.

"Goodbye Taylor."

"Goodbye Joe."

And he was gone.

-*-*-*-*-

"Selena! Wake up!" Demi shouted, hitting her best friend with a pillow. She rolled over and groaned.

"Noooo. I don't wanna get up."

"Well tough nubs because you have to. I'm leaving in 10 minutes to go meet up with Nick and Joe and catch some breakfast, then we are off to the airport. If you are ready by 8:45 you can come with us to breakfast." Demi said and Selena shot up from her bed.

"Joe will be there!?" Selena exclaimed and ran to her dresser pulling out her remaining outfit and running into the bathroom to change.

"Sel... they _just _broke up. Don't try anything." She told Selena and her head popped out from the door.

"They broke up?" She asked, a smile forming on her lips.

"Selena please. Don't get any ideas. He's vulnerable right now and doesn't need you being all over him. Besides, he's a little old for you."

"He's gonna be a senior, I'm gonna be a sophomore. He's not too old for me." Selena explained, walking out of the bathroom with her hair pulled into a single French braid and sporting jeans that were cut into shorts and a yellow tank top.

"Selena..." Demi warned as she watched her best friend slide on her Nike's and slip on a yellow headband to match her shirt.

"I won't do anything."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now come on we're gonna be late." Selena rushed Demi, pulling her out of the room and slamming the door.

"So Joe and miss slut broke up last night? Give me details." She demanded as Demi shook her head.

"I don't know all the details. Nick just said that they broke up and Joe is pretty torn up about it." Demi explained as they walked through the crowded hallway full of students lugging luggage.

"Oh... so she broke up with him? Great, I'll be his shoulder to cry on." Selena said and smiled, pleased with her conclusion. But Demi went and killed it for her... someone had to.

"No. Joe broke up with her. Well no. It was mutual. But he brought it up." Demi said, hoping that Selena wouldn't try anything on Joe.

"Even better. The little slut got her dumping."

"Selena." Demi said sternly.

"What?"

"Stop it."

"Fine, fine. I won't even think about trying anything with him."

"Good. Drama is the last thing I need this summer."

"I know. Sorry." Selena said Demi shrugged it off.

-*-*-*-*-

Nick rolled his eyes at his brother as he rested his head on the table. He's been like this all morning and it was getting to Nick. He hated seeing his brother all torn up, especially on the last day of school. He was supposed to be up beat and goofy, having a good time. He wasn't supposed to be moping around about his ex girlfriend and trying to hide his face from everyone that would have possibly heard about last night. Nick thought it was crazy that people would already know about the break up. Who could possibly know about something that happened at ten o'clock last night?

"Joe. You're being ridiculous. Pick your head up." Nick said and Joe didn't say anything. He remained having his head resting on his arm.

"You're being immature about all of this."

"You didn't just break up with your girlfriend last night. In fact, you did almost the exact opposite. You find out your girlfriend is spending the summer with you, while I go through hearing the twisted rumors over and over about my girlfriend and end up breaking her heart." Joe explained, lifting up his head, looking at his brother with tired eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry." Nick apologized. He studied Joe for a moment before speaking again.

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"No."

"Well you'll be able to sleep on the plane."

"I guess."

"Hey Nick!" Demi exclaimed and sat next to her boyfriend, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Selena sat across from her, next to Joe and tried not to look him in the eye, knowing that if she did, she'd break her promise to Demi.

"Hey Joe." Demi said sympathetically, giving a small smile.

"He told you!?" Joe exclaimed, disgust falling over his voice. The three of them were taken back by his tone and Nick and Demi prayed that Selena couldn't have made it worse. But she did. Proving them wrong. Again.

"Who cares, Joe. You didn't need the ho-bag anyways. You're better off with somebody more faithful... jeez can't you take a hint?" She said and smirked, draping her arms over his shoulders. He shrugged them off angrily and scooted away from her.

If looks could kill, she'd be dead.

"Selena!" Demi exclaimed, kicking her under the table. Joe stared at her, a blank expression, a flash of hurt passed through his eyes, but it didn't last. He blinked maybe once and awkwardness thickened the atmosphere. Nick thought he was a ticking bomb and would have blown up. But he was wrong.

Nick and Demi watched in anxiousness as Joe opened his mouth to talk.

"Gomez." He stated.

"Jonas." Selena said goofy, as if he was flirting with her by calling her by her last name.

"She's not the one..." He started off, with a fake smile that slowly faded as his voice got ice cold, "who throws herself at guys who have made it pretty clear that they aren't interested. So... take a hint." He mocked her and stood up angrily.

"Nick, text me when you're done so we can get out of this place. Later Demi." He said and walked away.

The three of them watched him walk away in silence, once he was out of view Nick turned to Selena.

"You think you're funny?" He questioned.

Selena swallowed hard and looked down, "No... I uh, I didn't know he would get so offended."

"They dated for 2 years, Selena."

"I know, I know. Sorry...I should leave anyways. I'm not so hungry anymore and I need to finish packing." She said and regretted her words to Joe.

"Have a good summer." Nick said, an attempted smile, though he wasn't to pleased with her at the moment.

"You too. And I'll see you, Demi, back at the room when you come to grab your things before you leave." She said and Demi nodded before Selena walked away.

"You know that was uncalled for." Nick told Demi and she looked at him.

"I know. I told her not to do anything like that. She promised she wouldn't. That was a fail."

"Don't worry about it, Joe will be fine." Nick assured her and all she could do was picture the hurt in Joe's eyes as Selena said that to him. It was vaguely there, but it was. Demi saw it, and Joe knew she did.

-*-*-*-*-

"Hey David..." Miley started, and waited for his reply.

"Hmm?"

"Why are we best friends?"

He laughed at her silly question. Miley always had the oddest things running through her mind. They were currently sprawled about her black, leather couch, listening to music blaring from her iHome. Her head was resting on the left side, his on the right.

"'Cause no one else can out up with your mental issues."

Miley gasped, but couldn't help but smile at his answer. She playfully kicked him in the hip as he laughed at her expression.

"Ow! You're mean!" He pouted.

"Me?! Bull shit." She laughed and kneeled on the couch, whacking him with a pillow. David looked at her in awe and did the same back. It soon turned into a pillow fight, with laughing and insults that weren't taken seriously.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop!!!" She laughed and they both got wiped out and ended up on the floor, leaning on the couch, laughing lightly.

"Shhh." She said and David stopped laughing completely.

"What?"

She looked around cautiously, listening for nothing, before picking up a pillow and chucking it at him.

"You did not just do that."

"Oh, I think I did!" Miley exclaimed and it wasn't long before another fight broke out. Her obnoxious laugh filled the room and in the faint distance, David heard a car door slam.

"Shhh." He said, just like she did ten minutes earlier.

"I'm not falling for that." She laughed and whacked him with her pillow, but he blocked it with his arm.

"No, I'm serious. Shut up."

Miley quiet down and listened for what he was listening for. They heard faint voices outside and a smile broke out across Miley's face.

"No way!" She exclaimed before getting up and running to the window to see Nick, Joe and Demi walking into the Jonas's house.

"Did you know they were coming home today? And with Demi!?"

David smiled at her and nodded.

"Ahh! This is gonna be the best summer ever!!!" Miley announced and ran out her back door, running to the fence, stepping on the cement bench in the garden. She peaked her head over the fence discreetly and saw Nick in his kitchen. She put her two pinkies in her mouth and blew, whistling a certain tune. A wide smile played across her face as she heard a door open and slam shut. She waited a few more seconds before seeing his head come face to face with her.

"Howdy stranger." She greeted him, her smile still showing and a sparkle in her eye.

Nick smiled his genuine smile, his lips parting a centimeter, showing his teeth.

"How are you, Miles?"

* * *

A/N: Wow. I never wrote a chapter for any story of mine that was this long. I really like it though. Now I bet a million and one questions are running through your head. Like...

What happened with Taylor and Miley?

Why'd Miley leave school so early?

What's with Nick and Miley?

Why is Selena being so... heartless?

Demi and Joe connection?

And what ever happened with Kevin and Danielle?

Don't worry, you're questions will be answered later. Some sooner than others... but they will be answered.

=]

-kelsie-


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The italicized sections are flashbacks.

**99 Red Balloons**

**Chapter 2**

_Whoa, you got my head in the clouds  
Whoa, you got me thinking out loud  
The more you dream about me the more I believe  
That nothing's ever out of reach  
So dream, dream, dream_

-*-*-*-*-

"Howdy stranger." She greeted him, her smile still showing and a sparkle in her eye.

Nick smiled his genuine smile, his lips parting a centimeter, showing his teeth.

"How are you, Miles?"

Miley's smile lightly fell as she thought about she has been since Nick last saw her. "I'm good. I mean, it's been rough, but I'm coping."

"That's all you really can do in times like this." Nick reasoned and his smile remained as he studied her.

"What about you, Mr. Jonas. How have you been?" Miley asked and Nick's remaining smile slightly faded.

"Eh, it's been pretty hectic back in North Carolina at school, but I'm doing better now that I can see you." He teased, the grin on his face brightening up.

"Nick Jonas, you certainly learned how to charm a girl while I was gone, now haven't you?" Miley played along and raised her eye brows impressed at him.

Nick shrugged, "I guess I don't need your assistance anymore."

"Oh please, Nick. As if I was ever your wing man." Miley laughed and he smiled at the sound of it. He missed that distinct laugh of hers that kept him smiling.

"You helped me get Demi." Nick reminded her and she laughed at the memory.

"Nick that was a disaster."

"No it wasn't!...Minus the food fight... it worked."

"The three of us got a week of detention."

"And during that week, Demi and I got together. See how that works out?" Nick said and looked at Miley knowingly.

"You're a dork."

"You're jealous. You know you want me. I believe that's how the food fight started... am I wrong?" Nick joked and Miley played along.

"Yup, totally. I want you so bad. I mean... out of the ten years I've known you, I was always secretly in love." She said and batted her eye lashes. They both chuckled and laughed thinking back at what happened the second month into school.

"Why'd you flick mac and cheese at her again?" Nick asked Miley, referring to the food fight.

"She was giving me a dirty look." She answered simply and shrugged.

"And now you guys are best friends. Amazing."

"All thanks to you." Miley smiled.

There was a small moment of silence before one of them spoke again.

"It's great to see you smiling again Miles." Nick said seriously, thinking back at the last time he saw her, the funeral.

"It feels great to be smiling."

"Come on over, I wanna play you a song I've been working on." He told her and she nodded.

They left their spots at the fence and met each other in Nick's living room. By the time Miley walked in, Nick was just coming up the stairs from his room in the basement, guitar in hand.

"Let's go to the backyard." He said and Miley nodded, following him.

"Dem! Miley and I will be outside catching up, feel free to join us." Nick called up the stairs to Demi, who was in the guest room unpacking. They soon heard footsteps rush to the stairs.

"Miley!" Demi squealed and ran down the stairs, engulfing her in a big hug.

"I've missed you!" She exclaimed and Miley replied the same.

"I missed you too!" They pulled back and Demi smiled at how good Miley looked...considering,

"How's it going?" She asked, cautious on the subject.

"Well it's going. You know..." Miley answered knowing Demi could relate to the situation of losing a parent.

"If you need someone to talk to just know I'm right next door for the whole summer."

"I know. Thank you, but I don't wanna think about it."

"I understand." Demi said respectively, truly understanding the feeling.

"So wanna join us outside?" Miley offered.

"I would... but I'm unpacking and I need to get organized and settled in. Maybe later." Demi explained, partially lying. She knew how Miley and Nick were. They've been friends since they were 5 and even though they weren't as close as Miley and David, the friendship wasn't far behind. And when Miley left school 3 months early, it bummed Nick out. Demi understood that and knew Nick wanted to catch up with Miley, just Miley. She wasn't jealous and she trusted them both.

"Okay then." Nick smiled and grabbed Miley's hand, leading her to the back door.

Once they were outside, Miley plopped down on the bench swing and Nick sat across from her on a wooden chair.

"So I started writing this about 2-3 months ago. It's the longest it's taken me to write a song and I've only got the first verse and chorus down, with lots of revision. I really wanna know what you think." Nick explained and Miley sat up, paying full attention as she waited for him to strum the first note.

"Young hearts, I believe that we are not far, from becoming who we truly are... love is on its way..." He sang, his angelic voice filling the atmosphere. Miley smiled at him, studying his every move. Nick looked into her eyes intensely, holding the gaze and she smiled a small smile as she listened to his lyrics. She watched as his hand strummed down, then up, down, and up on the guitar strings as his other hand held down strings, creating each note and chord.

"Dreamers, you see everything in color, while the world is getting darker... love is on its way. So hold on another day 'cause love is on its way." Miley looked down and her smile slightly disappeared. She remembered Nick had mentioned he started writing the song a few months ago... around the time she left. The time she was in the gutter and in her worse state of mind, when she needed somebody to be there for her, somebody to make her feel wanted, somebody to show her what love is.

"You'll find it's gonna be okay... 'cause love is on its way. It's alright, you'll find a brighter day

'cause love is on its way..." He finished the song and looked down for a brief second, trying to get rid of the smile on his face. He looked back up to see Miley smiling at him. For some reason it made him anxious and he blushed.

"It's obviously not finished yet, but that's what I have so far." He told her and smiled sheepishly.

Miley nodded and bit her bottom lip, debating whether to say what was on her mind or not.

"Feedback...please? You're making me nervous just staring at me like that." Nick chuckled and Miley giggled at him.

"It's amazing so far, Nick. I can't wait to hear the finished piece."

"That's it? Usually you give me some tips and we change a few things to tweak it up." Nick said and looked at her, shocked by her tight mouth.

"Don't change a thing. I like it just like that." Miley told him and he nodded.

"Great." He said simply smiling.

_She swallowed the lump that grew in her throat and her nostrils flared as a worried expression was shown on her face. The phone that was between her ear and hand made a beeping noise. Busy signal. She took a deep breath and looked down, hanging up and dialing the number for a fifth time. She sits in anticipation, biting her thumb nail, scraping off faded blue polish, the taste making her cringe inside. Still no answer. She slams her cell phone down next to her and rests her head in her hands._

"_Hey Miley, what's up?" She hears a voice and looks up from her spot on the bench. The sick feeling in her stomach boiled and she sighed._

"_It's my mom." She said and looked at Nick worried. _

"_What? Is she okay?" He asked, concerned and rested his hand on Miley's knee. Her eyes immediately met his and he was oblivious to her reaction to him waited patiently for a response._

_She shook her head and frowned._

"_I don't know. My phone was dead this morning so I left it in my room to charge and when I got back from biology I had a million missed calls from my home and then I saw I had a voice mail. It was my dad and he sounded like he was trying to be strong but I could tell something was wrong. He said something about my mom being sick and told me to call him back as soon as possible and I have been, but the line is always busy. " Miley explained, the worry in her expression deepened and showed in her voice._

"_Did you try his cell phone?" Nick asked, now worried himself._

"_It went straight to voice mail." She said sadly and uncrossed her legs, turning to face Nick._

"_I'm scared, Nick. I don't know what to do. What if she's in the hospital or what if she is deathly ill and she passes aw-"_

"_No, stop! Don't think like that. She's fine. You're mom is perfectly fine. She's fine and your dad and you will be fine. Your whole family is fine." He convinced her and she nodded anxiously. _

_Her phone started buzzing and she immediately picked it up._

"_Dad?...What's wrong? Is mom okay?... What?... No, you're joking....... Daddy...... Is she okay?... I'm coming home... Please... But-... Fine... I love you too, and tell mom I love her... Bye." The conversation lasted about 6 minutes and she hung up, her eyes darted towards Nick and he waited for her to speak, though he was curious about what was wrong, he didn't want to push, she would tell him when she was ready._

"_My mom...she..." She paused, trying to process her thoughts. "She has breast cancer." Miley said, a distant expression in her tone and face The color in her face was drained and she was staring into Nick's eyes and although she was looking directly at him, he knew she wasn't all there. Her mind was elsewhere. He froze in his position and his mouth was agape, he sat there like an idiot, staring at Miley, his mouth slightly opening as if he were to say something, then slightly closing because he changed his mind. _

"_I wanna say something to make it better but I know whatever I say will only make it worse." He said softly, mainly thinking out loud because he knew Miley's mind had gone away with her thoughts._

"_Nick." She said, looking at him, but with her attention on him specifically._

_He brought his attention to her and looked into her fearful eyes._

"_Is she going to die?"_

-*-*-*-*-

"What did we just do?"

"We... got married." He said sheepishly and smiled at her.

"We eloped!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"I can't believe you said yes." He smirked.

"There was a lot of pressure." She sunk down on the bench.

"I don't regret it." He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Neither do I." She said and rested her head on his shoulder.

"What do we tell our parents?"

"Wow, Kev. I thought you would have thought of it before this brilliant idea." She said sarcastically.

"Nobody ever thinks of the consequences when they elope. It's a spur of the moment type thing, Danielle."

"Whose parents do we tell first?" Kevin asked and Danielle shrugged.

"Yours!" They both exclaimed at the same time.

"Mine?" They said in sync and Danielle picked her head up off his shoulder and looked at him incredulously.

"Kev, my parents don't even like you, you know that. We can't tell them first, you won't be alive for us to tell your parents!" Danielle reasoned and Kevin nodded.

"Yeah... they never did warm up to me."

"Because you left me..."

"I know.." He looked down ashamed, remembering the memory.

"At the alter." She finished off and Kevin shook his head.

"Not this time."

"No. Not this time."

"I'm sorry." He said faithfully and looked her in the eye.

"I know."

"I was scared."

"Most guys wouldn't even admit that..." She said and looked at him, a morose look in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to break your heart." Kevin told her.

"I know."

"It was just happening all too fast." He explained.

"I felt the same." She told him and sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have delayed the wedding, waited a while longer."

"I didn't want you to think I didn't want to marry you."

"While you were being thoughtful and not selfish, I was being the complete opposite."

Danielle looked up at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Don't worry about it now. It doesn't even matter. All that matters is that we are together and I love you."

-*-*-*-*-

He layed on his bed, looking up at the off-white ceiling. His mind was somewhere else, spinning around crowded thoughts. He bit his tongue as he thought about her. She was his everything. Why did he drop her like that? He knew she didn't cheat on him. He knew damn well that she had a clean slate. Well he thought he did. But then he became unsure. Why did it hurt so much every time someone said something about it to him? If he knew it wasn't true, why was he bothered so much? Because deep down, he knew that there was a time when he was cheated on. Maybe not by her, but by his first, long term relationship. But he was so young then, so naïve. He was just a sophomore and she was a senior. He didn't see it coming.

_Her sleek brunette locks brushed his cheek gently as their lips re-attached. Her hands were running through his dark brown hair as his hands found their way to forbidden places. They lay horizontally on his bed, tangled in each other, not caring about anything but them. She sighed as he moved his hand in between her legs, slowly inching up her skirt. His heart pounded as she said his name, her voice and actions full of want._

"_Joe..."_

_It wasn't long before they were both half naked and the mood turned from loving to lustful. All it took was three words before a regret was made and a promise was broken._

"_I want you..."_

Joe shook his had at the memory, the silver ring in between his thumb and index finger. Lexi. He didn't even love her, it just happened, the mood was enough for a teenage boy to give in, but enough to be breaking a promise to God. He still regrets that day, he was head over heels for her because she was older, hot, more experienced, and actually liked him. He didn't like her as a person, he just liked that he was wanted. So he did everything he could not to lose her. It was a shame he did what he did for her because of what happened the next day. He was a stupid boy and he never told anyone what really happened.

_Joe bit his bottom lip nervously as he approached his girlfriend's dorm room. It was Valentine's Day and he had gotten her the bracelet she had been gushing over for the past 2 weeks. It was sterling silver and had little hearts connected by chains. It even matched her earrings that she wore on their first date. He had a single rose in one hand, a box of heart shaped candy in the other, the Tiffany's box rested in his pocket. They had made plans to go out to dinner and Joe was worried about being to fancy, after all he was only 16, but having an older girlfriend set the standards higher, he wasn't sure what exactly to do. Most guys wouldn't care so deeply, but for some reason he did._

_He came to her door and knocked gently. No answer. He waited a bit, heard some mumbling and got curious as to why she wouldn't answer the door. He grabbed the silver doorknob and turned it, it made a clicking sound as he pushed the door open. _

_His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. There was Lexi, a shocked expression covered her face as she was buttoning her jeans, her hair unkempt, wearing just a bra. His gaze moved over a few feet to find the star athlete football quarterback, Chris, also pulling his pants up, but failing miserably, falling over out of shock. Joe stood in the doorway, lips tightly shut, biting his tongue, keeping him from letting the wrong words slip out. The rose in his hand was being tightly grasped and the box of chocolates was being smushed between his fingers. _

"_Joe!" Lexi exclaimed, running towards the foot of her unmade bed, grabbing her shirt and putting it on. "Look, I know this looks bad, and I'm sorry but-"_

"_Whatever Lexi. You don't have to explain. I get it." Joe spat out, a disgusted look on his face. He turned around and walked out the door, kicking it shut on his way._

_He angrily stormed out of the dorm and made his way back to his room. He spotted a garbage can ahead and debated on whether or not to just throw everything away. Joe shook his head and became calm, he slowly made his way over to a bench next to the fountain, he sat down, placing the rose and chocolates next to him. He looked out at all of the couples in love, hugging each other, exchanging gifts, kissing, cuddling, and he sighed, shaking his head._

"_Fuck." He said, and looked down at the naked finger that used to hold a treasured promise._

* * *

A/N: Okay, so not very long, didn't cover that many people, but I got out what I needed to. Now I bet you're wondering why Nick and Miley are so friendly and like you read, they have been friends since for a long time and grew up together. Also, you might have noticed that Kevin and Danielle's part was very vague, mostly dialogue, well that's because in that moment after eloping they weren't really feeling anything, and what they were feeling...love... is too hard to describe. But don't worry, you will see more of them and their inner feeling and secrets later. Also, if you were confused about Joe, you will read more on that topic later. If you didn't understand, basically in his sophomore year of high school he was cheated on after breaking his promise and having sex. Yes I make the Jonas Brothers have purity rings in my stories, don't be hatin. =]

Yes, italics are flashbacks.


	4. Chapter 4

**99 Red Balloons**

**Chapter 4**

_You're going away and I'm feeling the same  
Thing day after day I can't let it go  
Everyone in this room they've got troubles too  
Secret stories and lies that we never knew_

-*-*-*-*-

Selena slowly dragged her luggage to the open chair in the airport. Her flight was delayed, and she had no idea why, but now she was stuck in the airport until about 11:30 that night. That's when her flight was supposed to be arriving, but she couldn't be so sure. She rested her head on her hand as her elbow was supported by the arm of the chair and she sighed. Each minute that went by felt like at least an hour. She didn't want to be in this stupid state anymore. She felt like crap after what she said to Joe that morning and every time she forgot about it she reminded herself about it. She knew it was a bitch move and she tried to control it, but she has no self control at all. That was something that she needed to work on.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and took it out, before answering the phone she checked who it was. _Mom_.

"Hey Mom." Selena said as she opened her phone and looked down at her fringed skirt.

"_Why are you picking up your phone? I thought you were on the flight home. I was just going to leave you a message on your voicemail._" Her mom said, curious as to why her daughter wasn't getting on her 3 o'clock flight.

"It got delayed; I won't be out of North Carolina until at least 11:30." She explained and sighed once again. All she wanted was to get home, not take two flights, the first being delayed, which meant she would get to her second one later, getting home later.

"_11:30! Oh Sel, I'm so sorry, I know you were anxious about getting home. You'll be home in no time, sweetie. Don't worry._"

"Mom, I don't wanna be here anymore." She said, tears welling up in her eyes. Truth was, she didn't want to be anywhere. She felt so low, she really liked Joe and she totally blew her chance with him, and she knew that her chance to be with him was slim to begin with, now there was no chance whatsoever.

"_Aw, honey, what's the matter?_" Her mom spoke concerned at her daughter sudden mood change. Selena was very close to her mom, she could tell her anything. She did tell her everything, actually, but this time she felt like if she told her mom how she acted throughout the second semester of the school year, her mom would be disappointed, she didn't want to disappoint her.

"Nothing, nothing. I just, I'm feeling a little home sick." She lied and her mom told her to hang in there and the conversation was over.

Selena closed her phone and looked at the time. It was around 3:30. She took a deep breath and her stomach grumbled; it wasn't until then when she realized how hungry she was because she hadn't had lunch. She stood up from her seat and skimmed around, looking for any type of restaurant. She spotted the sign signaling a Dunkin Donuts and started walking over to it. She stalled and looked back at her stuff lying near her chair. Someone could easily steal all of that, she looked around cautiously and slowly started walking towards the Dunkin Donuts. Soon enough her conscious caught up with her and she stopped again, turning to look back at her luggage. It was all still there so she continued on, looking back every few seconds.

She made it to the Dunkin Donuts and the line was about 5 or 6 people. She looked up at the menu and decided on an iced coffee and flatbread sandwich. There was a guy in front of her wearing a brown coat, it was a little heavy for summer time and it was ripped in a few spots. He had tarnished sneakers on and ripped, worker jeans with paint splattered on them. His eyes were tiny and he had a scruffy beard. He was a little sketchy looking; he turned around and saw her, then quickly turned to face forward. Selena looked at him oddly but shrugged it off.

He turned around once again, looking at her up and down, smirking to himself, and then turned to face the front again. Selena looked behind her and to her left and right, feeling uncomfortable. She was now third in line and the guy in front of her suddenly stepped out of line and left, she watched him curiously and knew he was up to no good.

"Good afternoon. What can I get for you?" A young girl, about 19, asked and Selena couldn't help but keep her eye on the sketchy guy that was in front of her.

"Uhm, I'm good… can I get..." Her voice faded off as she watched the man walk over to where she was sitting before. She nervously looked away, trying not to think anything of it.

"An iced coffee, sugar only…." She turned to the right and saw the man approach her luggage, reaching out to grab her purple duffel bag.

"HEY! THAT'S MY STUFF!" She shouted and ran out of the Dunkin Donuts line, chasing after the man, who was now running the opposite direction. He looked back and saw her coming after him and sped up.

Selena sped up also, thanking herself for being on the track team. The man tripped over someone's luggage and fell on his hands, the bag protecting him from hitting his head. Selena watched as a girl with curly blonde hair bent over to check if he was alright. She stopped in her tracks and slowly walked to the man and girl. Security started to crowd around the man as the girl took the duffel bag from his grasp and looked up for the owner. Selena silently growled, looking at who was in possession of her bag. _Great_, she thought.

The girl headed over to Selena once she spotted her and handed her the bag.

"That was a close call, I saw the whole thing." She spoke.

"Thanks." Selena said bitterly and flung the bag over her shoulder.

Taylor rolled her eyes at Selena as she went to turn and walk away. She grabbed her shoulder and Selena spun around angrily.

"What?" She said coldly.

"Selena, I know I'm not your favorite person in the world, I don't know why you don't like me, but you need to get over yourself. I did nothing wrong to you and if I did, I'm sorry for whatever it is. I don't want to have unnecessary enemies; I don't know what person would. So can you please just stop being a bitch because it's getting old fast." Taylor snapped at her and Selena sunk down in realization of her attitude.

"Sorry… I'm having a bad day." She said, hoping Taylor would get off her back and just leave.

"That makes two of us. But that's no reason to be rude."

"Yeah, I know Taylor. Thanks, bye." Selena said, annoyed and started to walk away once again.

"There it is again!" Taylor exclaimed, also annoyed. "Do you want to talk about it or something? I heard that letting your anger out on the person you hate helps." She said and Selena turned half way to look at her.

"Fine." Selena said and Taylor followed her to her chair. Any other day she wouldn't sit and talk to her, she was definitely not on her good list. But there was something about Taylor that Selena liked, the fact that she tried to put her in her place and tried to talk to her even though she knew Selena hated her.

-*-*-*-*-

Demi frowned as she walked by his door, seeing it shut. It was like that as soon as they arrived and it remained like that 4 hours later. She was kind of worried about him. He had to be hungry or something, she thought to herself, she decided to stop at the kitchen on the way down to Nick's room, and attempt to get him to eat something.

"Hey Mrs. Jonas," She said as she entered the kitchen, the sweet smell of a home cooked dinner flooded her nose.

"Demi I've told you numerous times, call me Denise," She laughed. "Are you all settled in?" She asked.

"Yes I am." Demi smiled, "That smells so good! What are we having?"

"On the menu for tonight is spaghetti and meatballs with my homemade tomato sauce and garlic bread." Denise answered, while straining the noodles over the sink.

"Yummy." Demi said and closed her eyes, sniffing in the smell of the sauce and garlic bread. She hadn't had a meal that smelt that good in a long time and she couldn't wait to dig in.

"Is Joe still locked in his room?" She asked, concerned about him. He didn't say anything on the way home from the airport, and once they got home all he did was drag his stuff to his room and lock himself in there.

Demi nodded lightly and frowned. She felt really bad for him, he was so torn up. Demi knew that Taylor was his first love, and she understood that it's hard breaking up with someone you love, but what she didn't understand was why he was shutting himself out from the world. It wasn't him and she didn't like it.

"That boy has got to eat something. Would you mind going up and telling him that dinner is almost ready and that I expect to see him come down here and eat." Denise asked Demi and she began to turn for the stairs but was stopped by Nick coming through the kitchen. He grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him, attaching their lips softly. The spark that flew through their bodies gave them both chills and he soon deepened the kiss.

"Ahem." Denise said and looked at Nick with raised eye brows. He pulled away from Demi and looked at his mom and blushed.

"Oh, hey Mom. Didn't see you there," He said and smiled innocently and shrugged as his mom continued to give him _that look_.

"What? I can't kiss my girlfriend?" He asked and kissed Demi on the cheek, he loved showing her off.

Denise looked at him and chuckled. "Oh Nicholas…"

"Oh can you go get your brother, dinner is ready and I guarantee your dad will be walking through the door with Frankie any minute." She added.

"Oh, I'll go, Denise." Demi cut in and headed up the stairs as Nick shrugged.

"Can you set the table?" Denise asked Nick.

"Sure thing, Mom." He said and walked over to the cabinet grabbing plates.

"So what's going on with your brother?"

"He didn't tell you?" Nick asked, not that surprised, Joe wasn't the open kind of guy.

"Not a thing."

"He'll probably tell you once he gets down here." He lied, fully knowing that Joe would be tightlipped on the whole thing.

-*-*-*-*-

He heard a soft knock on his door and sighed. He wasn't in the mood to see or talk to anyone, but he knew sooner or later that he would have to. His mom was bound to make her way up to his room sometime. For him it was sometime too soon.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Joe announced, hoping she'd understand and leave. He waited for his mom to respond with something like, "Joseph, it's unhealthy to bottle up your feelings," Or "Do you need to talk to someone? A specialist maybe?" No way was he going there. Not ever would he go talk to some stranger about his feelings like Miley did. He didn't know how she did, being the type of person that she is, but she did, and he applauded her for that.

"It's me. Demi." He heard on the other side of the door and furrowed his eye brows. Out of all the people that lived in that house, why would she be the one standing at his door?

Joe got off his bed and walked to door, opening it slowly. "Yes?" He asked a bit surprised to see her at this door.

"Your mom wants you downstairs for dinner." Demi said simply and Joe shook his head.

"I'm not hungry." He stated and began to close the door, only to be stopped by Demi's hand.

"No. You have to be. You haven't eaten since breakfast; actually I don't even think you were eating then." Demi reason and pulled his arm to come out of his room.

"I ate some of those roasted peanuts on the plane." He challenged and Demi argued back.

"That doesn't count, the bag comes with like twenty peanuts. Come on. You need to eat." She said and started to drag him out of his room.

"No. I'm not hungry." He released himself from her grasp and walked over to his bed, sitting down.

Demi frowned at him and followed him into his room. She looked around and the walls were a dark shade of navy blue, he had an off white ceiling that matched the rug on the floor. There was a nice wooden desk in the corner of the room with his laptop set up on it and a lamp, the color of the walls. He had various posters of musicians and his favorite movie posters, _The Goonies, Anchorman, Ace Ventura_... etc. He had a book shelf that matched the desk and it had mostly baseball trophies and some childhood books, such as the whole Goosebumps series.

There was a dark brown dresser with about 5 drawers and on the top of it were some pictures of him with friends and family. Some of them were facing down and she studied the pictures that wenren't. There was one of him, Nick and Kevin sitting outside on a little stone wall. Nick was in the middle and had barely any hair; he was looking at someone, smiling. Kevin and Joe were on both sides of him. Kevin was hanging onto Nick's arm and smiling at the camera and Joe had his arm around Nick's shoulders and he was smiling like a giddy little kid with a bad haircut. Another picture was of them, a little older, sitting on stone steps, Kevin on the top one, then Joe, then Nick at the bottom. They were all smiling at the camera politely… well kind of. Joe was making some type of ninja face as if he just kicked someone in the face. They were all very nice pictures, some of them made her laugh, like the one of them during Halloween. Kevin was some Operation game thing, she wasn't sure and Nick was Blue from Blue's Clues, and Joe he was…well, she didn't know what he was.

There was one picture though, that grabbed her attention. It was a picture of Joe and Taylor; it looked like it was self taken. She was wearing a knitted hat and as he was looking at the camera, it looked like she turned last minute to look at him. They were both smiling, but what stood out to Demi was the look in her eyes. You could tell that Taylor loved him.

She noticed a few of the pictures face down and reached out to lift one up but was stopped by a bigger hand.

"Stop," Joe said. "They're face down for a reason." Demi looked at him and slightly frowned.

"Sorry." She said and he shrugged and walked back over to his bed and sat down. She followed and sat next to him.

"Joe, what's going on?" She said worried of his behavior.

"Oh nothing, you know, just broke up with my girlfriend of 2 years, but no big deal." He said sarcastically and Demi rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I know that. But moping around and locking yourself in your room is certainly not going to help." She explained and he looked at her, sorrow in his eyes.

"There's more." He said simply and Demi listened, waiting for him to explain. He didn't say anything after a moment, he just looked down.

"Joe, you can tell me anything. I hope you know that. I mean, I know we aren't very close but I hope that can change over the summer." She sympathetically smiled. He looked at her morosely and the look in his eyes told her so many different emotions. She definitely knew something was seriously wrong. It worried her too, he looked so lost. She'd never seen him this way before.

"Joe…"

"I… I did something wrong." He eventually got out and refused to look her in the eye.

"You broke up with her, but that doesn't mean it was wrong."

"No, not that," He said and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Then what?" Demi asked, concerned, though she didn't expect him to tell her anything that he couldn't tell someone else. They weren't that close.

"I'm a terrible person, Demi. I screwed up so bad. I'll never be forgiven. I don't know what I'm gonna do, I…" He ranted on and Demi knew he wouldn't stop unless she made him.

"Whoa, Joe calm down. Just tell me what you did that makes you such a terrible person." Demi cut in and he looked at her nervously.

"I broke my promise." He said and looked down ashamed.

At first Demi had no clue what he was talking about. What promise? She didn't know. She shook her and said, "I don't understand."

Joe swallowed hard and looked down at his bare finger. Her eyes followed hers and it clicked. She remember asking Nick about his purity ring when they first started going out. He told her about it and how each of them made a vow to not have sex until marriage. It looked to her that Joe broke that vow. But with Taylor…? She looked at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape. She had to wonder why he was telling her this. She and Joe got along perfectly fine but they weren't this close. Demi remembered how vulnerable he was and how much he just needed a friend who wouldn't judge him or Taylor. She just happened to be there. Maybe that's why he told her, because he just needed to tell somebody. She didn't get why he would be so upset if he was in love with Taylor when he did it.

"But Joe, you and Taylor, I thought you were in love, why does it matter?" She asked him and he looked at her confused.

"Taylor? No… no. That's the thing. It wasn't with Taylor. No I didn't cheat on her. It was sophomore year with my first girlfriend… who cheated on me." He explained, whispering the last part and looking down, ashamed.

Demi didn't know what to say.

"I didn't even love her. I broke this promise to myself and to God and to everyone for a _slut_." He spat out, saying that last word harshly.

"Demi! Is Joe coming down or not?" They heard Denise's faint voice call out. They both ignored it.

"Joe, where's your ring?" Demi asked, skimming around his room.

"Why? It doesn't even matter anymore. It hasn't mattered for 2 years." Joe said carelessly.

"Joe, where's your ring?" She repeated herself. He knew she wouldn't give up, so he went into his night stand drawer and pulled it, showing her.

"Why'd you decide to take it now?" She said gently.

"Because… it just finally hit me, I guess." He said and Demi wondered why, there was something he wasn't telling her.

"Put it on."

"It doesn't mean anything though, I broke it." He said once again and she put her hand on his heart gently.

"But does it mean something here?" She asked.

"But I broke it."

"I know. But you just have to mean it here, Joe." She pressed harder on his heart and leaned in closer. "Everyone makes mistakes. God does not hate you for yours. You just have to mean it here."

He held her hand over his heart and his big brown eyes stared into hers. He nodded then. She smiled and took his left hand in hers. She slid the ring back in its place and then linked their fingers. He smiled at her and in that moment, he saw something he thought he'd never see in anyone again.

-*-*-*-*-

Taylor looked at Selena nervously before stepping into the plane. "Are you sure about this?"

"You are such a goodie goodie. We both have our reasons to go to their house. You need to straighten things out with Joe and talk to Miley and I wanna see my best friend. What's stopping us?" Selena exasperated, rolling her eyes at Taylor.

"Our parents?!" Taylor exclaimed.

"We'll call them and settle it once we get there. Now go on…get on the plane." Selena shoved her and Taylor swallowed hard. She didn't want to face Joe, she thought she'd never have to see him again.

"Fine…" Taylor said and walked forward. They got on the plane and sat down in their seats once they found them.

"New Jersey, here we come." Selena said and smiled to herself.

* * *

A/N: Quite the uh…the thing between Joe and Demi. Now I bet you're all like, he so loves her..well no comment =P and what about Nick and Demi, where's their connection. Well, you'll see some of them next chapter…more than you might want to…but hehe….TOO MUCH INFO. x]

Oh and what exactly did Taylor and Selena talk about…? Well…..REVIEW AND FIND OUT. =]

I got like 6 reviews last time, so now I won't update until I get 20 more.

NO SILENT READING!


	5. Chapter 5

**99 Red Balloons**

**Chapter 5**

_Their words mostly noises  
Ghosts with just voices  
Your words in my memory  
Are like music to me_

-*-*-*-*-

"Here you are girls, $65.50." The cab driver said while getting out of the car to get their luggage from the trunk.

Selena and Taylor got out of the car and Selena handed him the money after they got out all of their bags and shut the trunk. He nodded to her and thanked her politely before getting back in the taxi and driving away.

They stood in front of a big white house and gawked.

"Whoa, this is where the Jonas's live?" Selena exclaimed. Taylor nodded and took a deep breath.

"Wow, the inside must be beautiful." She said and Taylor turned to her nervously.

"It is… and ugh! I can't do this. I'm leaving." She said and grabbed her bags and started to walk away.

"No you are not! Look, I don't really like you, but I don't want you to be wondering around New Jersey with no place to go." Selena exclaimed and grabbed her arm.

"Gee…thanks? I guess..." Taylor said. "This is just too much. I can't see him. Not after what happened. I can't face him again. It was all planned out; I go back home and never see him again and just move on. Going to New Jersey to get him back wasn't part of the plan!!"

"Oh get over yourself; if you loved him you would do anything to get him back. Now come on!" Selena exclaimed and started walking through their yard and to the front door with Taylor following nervously behind.

-*-*-*-*-

Miley looked out her bedroom window curiously as she watched the two girl walk across the Jonas's lawn and knock on the door.

"Hey Mi, what are you looking at?" David asked, walking into her room.

"What are they doing here?" She asked, continuing to look out her window at Taylor and Selena waiting patiently for someone to answer the door.

"Who?" He questioned and looked out the same window. "What are they doing here?" He repeated her question once he saw who was walking into the Jonas's, welcomed by their mom.

"I don't know doofus. That's why I asked you!" She whacked David in the shoulder and laughed.

"Don't Selena and Taylor hate each other?" He asked, taking his graze off the house and focusing on Miley.

"….Yeah. Well, Selena hates Taylor, Taylor never did anything wrong though, and Taylor doesn't really hate anybody, she's too much of a sweetheart." Miley told him and questioned his expression on his face.

David stood nervously, thinking about the rumors that were going on after Miley left and more when he left that he heard when people were texting him about it and Joe texted him to tell him about the rumors.

"Miley, when you left… things… happened." He spoke slowly and cautiously, trying not to remind her of why she left.

"What… things?"

"People talk, Mi… they talk about you, they talk about me…and Taylor…" He said and looked down, saying the last part softly, but Miley heard it.

"What did you do?" She asked nervously, trying to think of everything possible that he could've done for people to talk about her, him and Taylor. And she knew that if they talked about Taylor, they talked about Joe.

"Nothing… I just… Don't be surprised if there's drama this summer, or however long they stay… Things ended badly this year… for everyone." He informed her and she slowly nodded. "Accept for Nick and Demi, they're just, well you know." He laughed and she giggled, this was true. Nick and Demi probably were the only normal ones in their group of…friends.

Well, that's what they thought.

-*-*-*-*-

It was silent. It was awkward. It was tense. It was uncomfortable. Very _very_ uncomfortable.

"So uhm, what brings you girls here?" Mrs. Jonas asked as they _all_ sat in the living room.

"We don't really know, we just… couldn't let the school year end the way it did, so we came to fix things." Selena said, not actually caring about how _everything _ended.

"Right…" Mrs. Jonas answered suspiciously. "Well I have to go clean up the kitchen." She said and left the living room, Mr. Jonas followed.

"This is boring. I'm gonna go play video games." Frankie said and ran to the TV room.

Nick and Demi were settled on the loveseat, holding hands and whispering things to each other. Joe was lying across the couch, a hat covering his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at anyone. He would be in his room but his mom yelled at him when he headed up after dinner. She said it was rude to the guests, but they weren't his guests, he didn't invite them, but he settled for the couch anyways, not allowing anyone else on it or near him. Selena was sitting in the one person couch and Taylor sat on the piano bench, nervously twiddling her thumbs.

"I read in a magazine once that not talking for long can make you a mute." Demi said, making that up, just trying to get someone to talk because she hated awkwardness.

"Only you would say that." Selena laughed and Demi shrugged and smiled.

Then it got quiet again.

Joe sat up and put his hat on the coffee table, Taylor stiffened and bit her bottom lip, avoiding eye contact, looking at nothing. He looked at her and saw her avoiding him, though he was doing the same, she's the one who came to his house.

"So where are you guys staying? There's no more room here." Joe said, a bit rudely.

"Don't stress yourself trying to make room; they're staying at my house!" Miley announced as she pranced through the living room and plopped down next to Joe. David followed and sat on the other side of him as Demi rolled her eyes at how loud Miley could be.

Miley grabbed Joe's face and forced a smile on him. "Mr. Grumpy gills!!" She mimicked from _Finding Nemo_ and smiled at him.

"Come on Joe, you can smile, I know it's in you." She said and put her hand down.

Everyone smiled at her; Joe even let a tiny smile show. They were so proud of her. She had such a rough year and she's been doing so much better. She always loved making people smile and laugh and she always has a good time, not to mention she made things less awkward.

"Okay so Tay, Selena, you can stay at my house, our secondary guestroom in the basement is open all summer, but you'll have to share, I _hope_ that's alright…" She spoke the last part cautiously, knowing they weren't each other's favorite people in the world.

"There's a bed and a couch that pulls into a bed, so you guys are good with sleeping arrangements. There's also a TV, bathroom and in the entertainment room there's a bar with food and stuff." Miley told them and they nodded, telling her that was fine and great.

"So… what's new?" Miley asked, knowing the answer, but just trying to get conversation going.

Joe looked at her like she was insane. "This is ridiculous." He said and started to get up, but Miley grabbed his arm and pulled him down.

"No! Joe, come on… it's the summer, I don't want drama…_ Everyone_ needs to just get passed their differences." She said, addressing the last part to everyone in the room.

"Miley, I can't do this…" He whispered to her, soft enough so only her and David would hear him. She frowned and David glanced at Taylor. Joe saw this and ran up to his room. Miley didn't try to stop him; she could hear the hurt in his voice and see it in his eyes.

"I'm sorry guys. I shouldn't have come. I'm just gonna go to bed." Taylor said and grabbed her luggage and headed over to Miley's house.

"I'm gonna help her get settled." Miley said and followed her to the door.

"Oh! Before I forget, Nick, can I talk to you real quick?" She said after walking back into the living room.

"Yeah, let's go down to my room." Nick said and he got up and they went down in his room, shutting the door.

"So Demi, Selena, how's life treating you?" David asked and half smiled at them.

"My life is wonderful right now; I mean I seriously couldn't be happier." Demi said and smiled.

"Mine's good now. I just wanted to see my best friend!" She laughed and got off the couch and ran over to Demi and hugged her.

"We are going to have an awesome summer. You don't even know!" She exclaimed and they laughed.

"Good to see some of us aren't screwed up." David said and they all laughed, though Demi knew that everyone was screwed up, even her.

"So what do you think they're talking about?" Selena asked and turned to see Nick's door still shut.

Demi and David both shrugged.

"Don't you ever get jealous?" Selena asked Demi and she gave her a questionable look.

"Nick and Miley spend so much time together; don't you get jealous of how close they are? She's like a threat to you." Selena told her and Demi shrugged.

"They're just friends; if they were gonna get together it would have happened by now." Demi said softly and looked down.

"Whatever. So David, tell us the truth. You didn't really sleep with Taylor did you?"

He looked at Selena shocked at her forwardness.

"Do you really think I'd do that to Miley?" He said without thinking.

"What?" Selena and Demi both exclaimed.

"Nothing! Nothing, look, guys, I was on a plane during that party. You can't believe everything you hear." He said and got up before walking out the door.

-*-*-*-*-

She sat patiently in the waiting room, counting down the minutes until it was exactly 1 o'clock. She had arrived early, only 5 minutes, but 5 minutes could be a long time when you are anticipating it. Her dad had dropped her and David off; she asked if he would join her in this session and he was more than glad to do that for his best friend. She wasn't exactly comfortable talking to some stranger about her problems, but she was forced to her by her dad, because he knew she wasn't okay after the death of her mother. Her sessions were usually forty-five minutes to an hour long, never shorter than forty-five minutes and never longer than sixty.

"Miley, you can come on in now." Her therapist came out of her office and said.

"Uhm, it's alright if I bring my friend in right?" Miley asked and looked at David. She nodded and Miley and David both stood up and he followed Miley into the room.

Once they got in Miley and David sat on the leather couch and her therapist, Ms. Jones, sat on the lounge chair in front of it.

"So, Miley, this is David, I assume?"

"Yes." Miley answered and smiled at him.

"I'm Ms. Jones, nice to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you, too." He said and held out his hand for her to shake it.

After they shook hands, David leaned back on the couch as Miley remained to lean forward, stiffened and nervous about this one particular session. David sensed her tenseness and held her hand, giving it a soft squeeze, reassuring her that it's all okay.

"Alright, so how are you this week, Miley?"

"I'm doing a lot better, actually. David is staying with me and my dad for 2 months before going back home, and I got to catch up with Nick, which was great because I really missed him and hopefully I'll be able to catch up with Demi later because she's staying with the Jonas's for the summer." She explained and David smiled at how well she sounded, better than she did when he last saw her.

"Wonderful, so I guess you're looking forward to this summer?" Ms. Jones said and Miley was a bit hesitant with her answer. She shrugged a bit and looked down.

"Well, yeah… I don't know. I mean, I'm really happy to spend the summer with my best friends, they've always been there for me, but it's gonna be hard because my mom and I always had our beach days…it was our favorite tradition because we both loved the sun and summer was when I was home the most…" The pressure in her eyes was light; she had the urge to cry but knew she could hold it in without making it noticeable.

Ms. Jones nodded and wrote something down on her notepad. That always annoyed Miley. She hated how every time she would say something, it was being written down, she was exposing herself completely and wasn't comfortable with it yet.

"And I wanna have fun this summer, but now two girls from our school decided to make a visit, and now I know it's gonna be drama filled. So David and I are gonna try and stay away from that." Miley said, turning to smile at David and squeezed his hand as he smiled back.

-*-*-*-*-

His hands grazed across her face as they reattached their lips and she ran her fingers through his hair. She smiled into the kiss as she thought about how perfect everything was going for her, but for some reason she couldn't stop thinking about what Selena said the night before. _"Nick and Miley spend so much time together; don't you get jealous of how close they are? She's like a threat to you."_ Of course she knew that wasn't true, well she thought it wasn't true until the idea was planted into her head.

She pulled back reluctantly and he just leaned towards her more. "Nick wha…" She began but was only cut off by his lips, she softly pushed him away again. "What did…" She paused as he looked at her confused.

"Demi, I'm doing my best work here and you're not even appreciating it." He joked and she slightly chuckled.

"Sorry I just… uhm…" She shook her head, "never mind." She smiled at him and kissed him again, he shrugged it off and she laid down on his bed as he hovered over her.

And before she knew it Selena's voice was in her head again. _"She's like a threat to you."_

"Nick…" She sighed and turned her head away, causing him to kiss her cheek. He sighed and put his head down.

"What's on your mind, Demi?"

"What did Miley talk to you about last night?" She asked and bit her bottom lip.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I'm your girlfriend and we tell each other everything." Demi said.

"Are you jealous?" He asked and looked deep into her eyes for the answer he knew she wouldn't give him.

She quickly looked away.

Nick smirked, got off of her and off his bed. He walked to his closet across the room and back to the edge of the bed, running his hand through his hair and shaking his head.

"You're jealous of Miley? Really Demi?" He started off laughing a little then got serious. "You know me better than that." He said and she got off his bed and looked at him with no emotion.

"Well considering you won't tell me what you guys talked about… no I don't." Demi said and crossed her arms.

"What do you think we did down here?! Have sex?" Nick exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

"Actually that was the farthest thing from my mind until you said it!" Demi semi-shouted.

"Oh please, Demi. She's like my sister, I don't think of her like that. I thought you were cool with how close Mi and I are."

"I thought so too, but now I'm not so sure."

"You guys are best friends; you really think she would do that? You think _I_ would do that?" Nick asked her and she looked away.

"I just wanted to know what you talked about and for some strange reason you can't tell me. It must be one hell of a secret if my best friend _and _my boyfriend can't even tell me." She said and brushed passed him heading for his door.

"Demi, I don't like her like that." Nick said and shrugged. "Where is this even coming from?" He asked.

Demi shrugged and shook her head, "You tell me, Nick." She said and ran up the stairs and out of his room, slamming the door.

It would have been a lot easier for Nick if he wasn't questioning the same thing Demi was.


End file.
